A number of methods have been developed in order to separate water from chemical mixtures, in particular organic liquids/fluids. The known methods include the use of alkaline earth compounds, carbon molecular sieves, oleum, distillation, and membranes. Many of the known methods are disadvantageous because the processes are inefficient or uneconomical; the drying agents undergo undesirable side reactions and/or adsorbs or absorbs the material being dried.
Drying agents used principally in connection with circulating refrigerants include activated aluminum oxide, silica gels and molecular sieves in solid or granulated form. During use, these materials are abraded by the flow of the cooling liquid and mechanical vibrations and form dust particles. In order to prevent the dust from clogging the valves and conduits of the refrigeration system, a filter must be employed. The use of such a filter costs time (for installation) and money.
Additional technologies exist for the removal of water from chemical mixtures/compounds. These include the use filters to either enlarge the water drops for subsequent removal or use materials with water repellent surfaces that block the water drops from passing through a filter. In some instances, super absorbent compounds have been used to remove water from various chemical mixtures/liquids (e.g., organic liquids/fluids).
Super absorbent materials are available commercially that hold 20 times or more their own weight in water. To date the use of a super absorbent compound to remove water from a chemical mixture/liquid has generally been based on super absorbent compounds that are used in a granular form. There are a number of drawbacks associated with water removal methods that utilize granular super absorbents, especially in the case where the granular super absorbents are used in combination with one or more water-removal filtration methods. Some of the drawbacks include the aggregation of the water-laden super absorbent granules into a gel-like substance. This gel-like substance can result in the reduction and/or complete blockage of the chemical liquid through the filtration medium.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus that permits the efficient and reliable removal of water from various organic mixtures/liquids.